Written by Ryan Renfrew | Follow me on twitter / facebook.

What uuuuuup Heroes and Heroines?

Today, as part of my Read-A-Book-A-Week For 2011 challenge, I have been reading Chicken Soup For The Soul by Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen. The book, for those who have not yet read it, is a collection of stories that do exactly what the title proposes. Many of the stories within the book clicked with me, but for some reason a story by Cherie Carter Scott screamed BLOG POST, BLOG POST, BLOG POST at me. So here is my adapted take on The Lessons Of Being Human.

1 You Are Still At School.

Whether you like it or not you a still a full time student enrolled in the school of LIFE. And unlike any previous schooling you’ve had the School of life has no recess or lunch break. Lessons are to be learned 24/7. It is up to you to take make the most of the opportunities these lessons have to offer. If you play truant you lose out. Simples!

2 You Can’t Make Mistakes.

I don’t particularly like the term ‘Human Being’, I believe a far more accurate description of what we are is ‘Human Becoming’. Personal growth is a process, a journey full of trial and error. “Failed” experiments are just as important as successful experiments, in fact, often we can learn more from our “mistakes” than from our successes. These “Failed” experiments are apart of the process of living and a part of who we are. Embrace mistakes, learn from them.

3 Lessons Are Repeated.

Life will keep presenting the same lesson in various forms and disguises until you learn it. It is only then, that you can ‘pass go and collect £200’ to  advance to the next lesson. If you are in a rut ask yourself the question “Why am I here?” and “What can I learn from this?”.

4 School Is Never Out For Summer.

You can never, pass, graduate or complete your studies at the School of Life. As long as you have a pulse you are learning lessons. Every aspect of life has a lesson.

5 Stop Looking to Become an ‘End Product’.

You will never be complete, you will never be perfect. Stop waiting for the perfect moment or the ‘Right’ circumstances because it will never happen. Start living in the ‘NOW’ because the ‘THEN’ is gonna turn into another ‘Then’ and that ‘Then’ will turn into yet another ‘Then’. You dont’ want to spend your life preparing for the ‘Then’s’ when you could be enjoying the ‘Now’, do ya?

6 Our Classmates Are Extensions of Ourselves.

What we see in other people are aspects of ourselves. Whether we love or hate someone, all we are doing is loving or hating an aspect of ourselves. If you love somebody its because you see characteristics in them that you love about yourself. If you hate somebody then what you are really hating is an aspect of that person that you hate about yourself. You can learn a lot about yourself by the way you look at others.

7 The Choice is Yours.

What you do at the School of Life is completely up to you. You have at your fingertips all the tools and resources that you will ever need to do ANYTHING you want. Lets repeat that, ANYTHING YOU WANT. You have full reign of you future, your career, your relationships your finances. Get on with it!!!

8 We Have Been Given Cheat-notes.

The answers to life lie inside you. You can tap into these answers by asking questions and learning to look, listen and trust the answers.

9 YOU WILL FORGET ALL THIS.

• What life lessons have you learned that you would like to share with the class?

• What Rules would you include to the instruction manual ‘Being Human’?

Please Spread The Word and share this post like an awesome Human Becomimg.

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bLAZE yOUR tRAIL

The Lessons Of Being Human is a post from: Ryan Renfrew

Written by Ryan Renfrew | Follow me on twitter / facebook

What uuuuuup? Hope you are keepin’ awesome.

It was my birthday on Sunday, I turned 26. I was tempted to write a “26 things I’ve learned in life so far” style of post. Then I thought about it for a second and came to the conclusion that I shouldn’t.

Instead I am looking to the future…

Here are my 26 things to pay attention to in the next 26 years.

1 Personal Branding.

Creating your own Personal Branding will be essential for every up and coming entrepreneur or white collar worker. With assistance from the internet the world is becoming a increasingly smaller place. Deals are made and people collaborate on projects via meeting on the internet. I believe that to be a great entrepreneur in the future you will need online representation 1. A base/ hub such as a blog, this will serve as your  portfolio/ resume/ CV 2. Social media sites like facebook will serve as your referees (after all, If I where to collaborate with someone or was offering a job I would first check out their facebook page) 3.Social media sites like twitter will be outposts (for listening to what is being said and seeking out new projects, opportunities and joint ventures).

2 Health.

Wouldn’t you want your business running at optimum capacity, running on all cylinders. Well…You are your brand, you are your business. Don’t you think you ought to be as healthy as possible. Not only will improved health bring more energy and vitality to your business but all aspects of your life. We are becoming increasingly more aware of the negative effects that lack of exercise and fast and processed foods have on our body. Its time we step up and realise that we are slowly killing our selves with poor diets and sedentary lifestyles. The next 26 years is a time were we need to seriously start looking after our bodies and set an example for the future generations.

3 Value Value Value.

You need to be adding value to EVERYHING you do. Every product, service, interaction – online or offline…has to not only deliver but OVER DELIVER. With so much noise and competition competing for our limited attention good enough just isn’t good enough any more.

4. Small Businesses Will Triumph Over Large Businesses.

Thanks to the internet many of our business efforts can be scaled dramatically with relatively little or no cost at all. Technology has reached a point that almost anyone can afford a computer and an internet connection. Many tasks can be outsourced relatively cheap which allows one person to co-ordinate many different tasks simultaneously that he hasn’t the skill, time, or are not economically viable on a smaller scale. Previously projects of this nature could only be completed by large businesses with many different departments working on small parts of the overall product and produced in mass quantities. Large businesses have the added problem off being too rigid and set in their ways. They follow certain chains of command. Chains of command that can lead to confusion, uncertainty and can take a long time to react. Look at Amazon as an example, when Amazon decided to ban some homosexual literature on a Friday, bloggers and tweeters went mad it was talk of the internet for days. Due to a confusing and complex chain of command the problem wasn’t addressed until Sunday, months in internet time!! Small business and one man band ventures have a significant advantage over there large counterparts, no chain of command, no set operations, no systems no manuals to follow. Small business owners can adapt, quicker than Amazon, to an environment that is constantly changing and changing at a staggering  rate.

6 Minimalism.

We will need to cut back on the crap we own. Its not healthy. Our fascination with consuming not only clutters our homes but clutters our mind. How did we get this way? Two factors spring to mind… Television and our peers.  Somebody on our street will see a TV advertisement for the latest flange sprocket so will mindlessly go out and buy one, others on the street will also see the advertisement on TV, and go out and buy one – keeping up with the Jones’s mentality. The trouble with consumerism is that it creeps up on us and we soon become conditioned to buying more and more junk without realising what we are doing and that we have come dependant on the process of buying. The moral of the story stop: watching TV and hanging out with people who must have the latest gadget.

7 Philanthropy.

We may think that these economical times are hitting us hard, but look out into you drive way, How many cars are there? How many TVs are in your house? How many electronic devices do you own? Last one, go to you wardrobe open it up and throw on the floor all the clothes you haven’t worn in the last 6 months, I guess it’s a big pile right?  Now have a look at what’s happening around the world, floods in Australia, earthquakes in India, landslides in South America. Natural disasters have destroyed communities leaving the residents with nothing. We should count ourselves lucky, in these times of economic downtown we have what we need to survive and much much more. We need to realise this and help others where we can, monetary donations, time donations or perhaps donating a lot of our unused possessions to people who need them more than we need spares. Who knows what will happen in our future! We need to prepare and create movements to help our fellow man. Who knows we could one day be thankful for others’ generosity.

8 Personal Investment.

Invest in yourself!! You are your biggest asset!! Does it not make sense to invest in something that is guaranteed to appreciate exponentially in value the more you invest in it??? This will be the smartest investment…financially and otherwise… you will ever make.

9 Collapse Of Monetary Currency.

It may just be the case that with this rate of increasing government debt and other contributing factors, of which I don’t pretend to understand but just merely entertaining the thought that our once stable currency could implode to be absolutely worthless. Just think back to hyperinflation in Germany after World War 1 when a wheelbarrow full of money was worth more than the money in it. How would society cope without the monetary system today???

10 Location Independence

Nowadays, especially for us internet folk we can run businesses remotely, all we need is a computer…not necessarily our own…and an internet connection and we can be at work. How does this sound…sitting on the beach in Hawaii with a laptop and sipping on a cocktail “working”. With the way things are here in the UK it is extreme difficult for a single 20sumthing person to slap down a 20% deposit on a house. So we are forced to rent and the rent is often the same price as a mortgage!!!! In other words throwing money into a blackhole to never be seen again. It makes a lot more sense to move to country where the standard price of living is a lot lower from where you make your money. Que the internet business.

11 Support Networks.

We’ve all heard its not what you know but who you know! And that has never been truer than in this day and age. Not only in business but also in our social lives as well. By creating a group of close “advisors” we stay focused on the important tasks at hand and rely on unbiased insight from an objective point of view. Our support network should come from different sources, friends, family and paid professionals – personal trainers, dieticians, business coaches, psychiatrists. And remember you are investing in yourself so choose the best you can afford.

12 Experiences Last Longer Than Possessions.

Many people work a 9-5 to buy expensive possessions they don’t really need and can’t afford so they work harder and longer. Sadly the buying and collecting of possessions does not lead to long lasting happiness. For long lasting happiness we need to ditch the material possessions and focus more on sharing experiences with friends and loved ones it is the memory of these experiences that lead to life long happiness. Look back to a time you were truly happy, I bet this was an experience shared with another person. I doubt it was when you were sitting on your new sofa or watching a TV programme on your new 50 inch TV.

13 The Ability To Embrace Change.

The world is changing at an incredibly fast pace, technology is almost obsolete when you take it out of the packaging. Attitudes and social norms are changing, the way we communicate is changing and the way we do business is changing. The people who can and are willing to embrace change and adapt will come out on top. Those who try to hold on to the old way of doing things will find it difficult to stay on top and will most likely get left behind.

14 Transparency.

We have all heard about this right? We live in a world monitored 24/7 by CCTV cameras, we post personal information all over the internet. We tell everyone, strangers included, where we are, what we are doing and who we are doing it with and a lot of time we post photographic evidence of  the said events. We not only expose information about ourselves, but others can broadcast their opinions about their dealings with us and our products or services for the whole world to see. We need to make sure that every interaction, post, photo comment tweet we leave is how we want to be seen. You never know who is watching. With so much information being catalogued it is hard to be something your not. One slip up could tarnish your reputation/brand. The key to transparency is to be yourself and only do things that you grandchildren will be proud of you for.

15 Time Is One Of Our Greatest Treasures.

We only get a certain amount. Once its gone its gone, it ain’t coming back…unless we build a time machine in the next 26 years. Every second is a gift, every second counts, we need to make the most of it. With so many more distractions that will be thrown are way in the next 26 years we need to create systems, discipline ourselves to stay focused and be able to identify what is important and what isn’t. For the record the 80/20 principle is a great way of doing this.

16 Preserve Nature And Her Resources.

Nature is just like time. Once its gone it is gone. We cant get it back. We as the human race need to wake up and realise the impact we are having on our planet. We need to invest in looking after what natural resources we have. The root of global warming and the thinning of the ozone, I believe, all stems from one root cause, consumerism. The excavation of raw materials, the fuels burnt in transporting, the by products of production, and the worst…far too much packaging that is carelessly disposed of. Nature gives so much to us and we give back so little. We need to start giving back to nature, not only for ethical reasons but for our very own survival.

17 Blazing A Trail.

I don’t know about you but I would hate to be another anonymous automated cog in a lifeless corporate machine. My legacy is to create a movement where normal people like you and I can live our lives with passion, live our lives with freedom, with choices, with excitement, and design the life we see fit. What Legacy do you want to leave?

18 Spiritualism.

To find our passions, our movements, our legacy we need to be in tune with our selves. Identify our needs, our wishes, our desires, our values and even our flaws. We need to establish what we believe in and create a spiritual reserve from which we draw strength from in times of doubt. I not necessarily talking about religion, if that works for you great, if not, then try yoga and meditation. This can help us to remain calm, stress free and instils a sense of clarity from within.

19 Contribution.

We need to contribute more!!! Look at what we have been given from our ancestors  great pieces of art, fantastic pieces of music, spectacular architecture, museums and Universities, which a lot of us take for granted. I believe inside each and every one of us is a piece of genius….A piece of genius that we can find and share with the world and leave behind for others to enjoy.

20 Influence As Currency.

It is a human trait to be drawn towards those with levels on influence greater than our own. We do more things for people with influence than for those without it. The greater our influence the more “powerful” we are perceived to be and the more and greater opportunities we are exposed to. In centuries gone by it has only been the rich and famous who have possessed great influence, now, with the internet and tools such as social media anybody’s influence is unlimited.

21 Creation Of Movements.

As I said earlier, average is no good anymore, a product is no good any more, a service is no good anymore. We have so much choice today that we like to buy into products and services that are more than only the physical or tangible solution to our problems. Humans like to feel a sense of belonging, we like to think we are part of something big, or that we have gained some form of status or social recognition that we didn’t have previously. The best way to illustrate this is to use Apple as an example, we pay so much more for iphones, ipods and ipads than their competitive counterparts. Why because its Apple, its freaking cool!!!!

22. Technological OCD Loops.

Okay does this sound familiar…
Turn on computer
Check email
Check facebook
Check twitter
Check that item on ebay
See who’s we can instant message.
Then go back and do it all again to see if anything has changed.
It is very hard to break from this cycle once it has been reinforced many times. Imagine how hard it is for a teenager who’s social life is predominantly ruled by these devices to break and go internet cold turkey, especially after years of conditioning. We need to be careful that this generations social media doesn’t become last generations fast food – cheap, fast, convenient and great at the time but has serious longer term repercussions later down the line.

23. Education reforms.

As Seth Godin says ‘the factory era is over’. I don’t necessarily mean a factory where physical products are produced, a factory in this instance can mean an organisation that relies heavily on systems, manuals, and set ways of doing things that is required for the end result. But that is exactly what our current school systems prepare us for, to be obedient, to follow protocol, to fit in, to learn just enough to work the factory. This system is flawed it doesn’t encourage individuality, free thinking, leadership and most of all how to be innovative, creative and entrepreneurial – all essential subjects in the next 26 years.

24 Everything Is Going Mobile.

It is said that in the next decade you will have no fewer than 7 electronic devices about your person, devices that can fit into your pockets. We as human beings are becoming more mobile, we are constantly on trains, planes and automobiles and with our limited attention span we go straight for our iphones, ipads and what ever other portable devices Apple will bring out in the next 26 years. TV is on its way out, the laptop is on its way out. The future is in your hands – Literally!!

25.Be Remarkable.

There is only one of you!!! And you only inhabit earth once. Why not make yourself the best you can be? Give life everything you have got to give it. Do what you want to do, follow your passion do what you feel is right. Be an example to others, stand head and shoulders above the rest. The world has to many average Joes there is no longer room for mediocrity – Be Remarkable.

26. Over To You….

What are your biggest predictions for the next 26 years… Please leave your answers in the comment section below.

You Rock, please share : )

bLAZE yOUR tRAIL

26 Things To Consider For Your Future is a post from: Ryan Renfrew

Written by Ryan Renfrew | Follow on twitter / facebook.

What uuuup?

Okay guys its been 3 months since I decided to start blogging. I was gonna give you the background of how and why I got into blogging, but then I thought, would you care? Would you give a shit? So I decided against it. If you really want to know then you can click here.

I began my blogging debut like I would approach any other project. By creating a plan. Now, I know by experience that the best way to create a plan is not to start from scratch, but to look for a plan that has already been established and is working for someone else and adopt that– after all there is no pint in reinventing the wheel, right?

Luckily for me I came across a chap named Gary Vaynerchuck. Gary is such a passionate and enthusiastic guy – just watch some of his video blog entries and you will see what I mean. I felt an immediate connection with Gary and knew he was onto something big so I read his most excellent book “Crush It” and was not disappointed. Not only was I not disappointed but I also found the plan I had been eagerly searching for. The very second I opened the book I knew it! Theres my plan all layed out for me in 21 easy to follow steps. Thanks Gary.

So here it is, this is Ryan Renfrews take so far on Gray Vaynerchucks 21 steps to build a Personal Brand.

1 Identify Your Passion

If you had to work at something for the rest of your life what would it be? And did I mention that you wouldn’t be getting paid? That is your passion!

Well for me that’s people. I love meeting new people, I love interacting with people. What I love most about human interaction is our ability to help one another. To learn and to teach – and I strongly believe that we all should be both learning and teaching as often as possible. Running alongside my passion for people is my passion for personal development, I want to share this with as many people as humaly, or superhumaly, possible. I want to help people waken up and live their full potential, to live their life with passion, with purpose and to most importantly bLAZE a tRAIL.

Perfect, I can combine the two with blogging.

2 Come Up With 50 Awesome Blog Topics.

To get the ball rolling think of 50 awesome blog topics. This will exercise the ole brain, get your creative juices flowing and will ensure you have enough ammo for your blog. And when I say AWESOME topics I mean A-W-E-S-O-M-E topics. There is so much information out there on the internet that we really are spoilt for choice. As there is an overwhelming abundance of where you can get your information from you better make sure that yours is the best, that it stands out head and shoulders above the rest.

3 Am I Sure My Passion Is What I Think It Is?

If you can’t think of 50 awesome blog posts then its time to move on and find another topic, one that you are truly passionate about.

4 Name Your Personal Brand.

What name is gonna represent you? What word or combination of words is gonna best describe your movement, product service or what you stand for?

For me that’s Ryan Renfrew, my name. My blog is my legacy, my digital self. I am my brand so there is no better name than my own.

5 Acquire Your Usernames.

This is like digital property. I secured RyanRenfrew.com from godaddy – about ten bucks a pop. Try and get a .com if possible. I also registered RyanRenfrew on twitter. I could not get the facebook vanity url for Ryan Renfrew so I had to make do with RenfrewRyan instead. It may be worthwhile if you have small children to secure there names too.… This will prove to be a valuable asset in years to come.

6. Chose Your Medium.

Whether it be video audio or written word.

As you can see I use the written word. I like writing, its therapeutic and it helps me to develop my creative side. But I am becoming more aware of video blogging and it is something that you will be seeing in the not so distant future.

7. Open Up A Blog Account.

You can use wordpress, tumblr, blogger, typepad etc. I use wordpress because it is easy to manage and the plugins make customising very easy. It wasn’t always this way, if you have been following me from the start you will know that I started off on googles blogspot.

8. Hire A Designer.

Okay this is one thing I have yet to do. But is something I will be looking into soon. Currently I use the greyzed theme and customise the widgets my self. This is far from ideal and I am not overly happy with the layout and the way things look. If you are a designer please get in touch.

9. Connect Links.

These are call to action buttons. I use a facebook like box and a few share buttons at the top and bottom of my posts allowing readers to easily share my posts.

10. Facebook Fan Page And Twitter Account

These sites are so hot right now and are a great way of promoting your blog. They are also great outposts to listen to what your community is saying and also to find people and build a community.

11. Post Content

Create a posting schedule. Mine is two times a week. Tuesdays and Thursdays, I did post a third for the first time on Sunday and might keep this as a regular feature. It goes without saying that your posts should be 100% knock your socks off awesome. Content is king. I don’t care how many times you have heard it before or will hear again. As far as I’m concerned its gospel.

12. Create A Community.

Create a community by commenting on other people blogs and forums and be sure to comment back when they comment on your blog. This is my major objective right now. And a strategy I am currently using is the 100 blog comment challenge, which is open to you and running now, click here to find out more. I strongly urge you to get involved . The 100 blog comment is a fast and effective way to build your community. There is a list of all the current challengers here. Take advantage of this already established community actively engaging and waiting for you to jump on in.

13. Search Twitter Topics.

Use twitter search or search twitter to find as many people as possible who are talking about your topic and communicate with them.

14 Search For Blogs Similar To Yours.

When I visit an A-list blog or any blog for that matter , within my niche, I visit all of that blogs of commentators and leave a comment on their blog, hopefully they will return the favour and comment on mine. I have started many  great relationships this way.

15 Join As Many Facebook Fanpages And Groups As Possible Within Your Niche.

16 Repeat 11-15.

17 Again.

18 Again.

19 Again.

20 Stickyness Reached.

Monetise! Once you are happy with the amount of daily traffic, comments and social shares you can begin to monetise your blog. I will try and avoid advertising and instead focus on adding value by promoting great affiliate products. If you have any products that you would like me to promote please feel free to send me a copy so I can check it out.

21 Enjoy

I would love to know how this plan compares to your plan?

What are the similarities and differences?

What stage are you at?

If you would like to join our community here then leave a comment below and/or join the 100 Blog Comment Challenge. I look forward to hearing from you.

~ Ryan

bLAZE yOUR tRAIL

Monetize Your Personal Brand In 21 Easy Steps is a post from: Ryan Renfrew

Wrtitten by Ryan Renfrew | Follow me on twitter / facebook

What uuuuup? Damn it’s great to be alive isn’t it?

Hands up if your fed up and pissed off hearing about all this 20eleven goal setting?

ME, I AM!

Let me get this clear… goal setting is the bomb, I believe goal setting is THE single best thing you can do for yourself. FACT!

I heard a great quote from the legendary Zig Ziglar today.

“Give me a store clerk with a goal and I’ll give you a man who will make history. But Give me a man with no goals and I’ll give you a stock clerk”

But guys… we are almost 3 weeks into 20eleven. If I read another goal related post my head will explode. I my self wrote a goal related post only last week Goal Setting Gone Wrong…and for that I apologise… “My Goals for 2011” style posts are getting  to be soooo twenty10. I know they are great, and by doing so we hold ourselves acountable and all that but lets save it for 2012.

So why am I RANTING about goals? Simples….

Reviewed our 2010 goals – Check
Identified our 2011 goals – Check
Working towards our 2011 goals – Hmmmm some more than others.

We are all human. I get it!

Setting goals is easy. Making them happen is a totally different kettle of fish. And now that we are 3weeks deep in this new year the glitz and glamour of our big new shiny goals has faded away to reveal a BIG, grey, daunting challenge. That’s why I believe we now need to shift the focus from the ‘end zone’ or ‘finishing line’ to the now, the present, the imeddiate and the whats right in front of us. We need to take action… I mean really take action. Getting down n’ dirty in the trenches and grinding it out, its not attractive, its not sexy but hey, that’s what needs to be done in order for our goals to become reality.

So what now…how do we get through the trenches victorious?

Affirmations

Those positive expressions of images, words, sounds and feelings.

Affirmations are very powerful because they can change your thoughts and therefore your reality. Since limiting beliefs – mental and emotional blocks – originate in your subconscious thoughts they are an excellent tool in interrupting old thought patterns that hold you back and programme new ones that will excel your way of thinking.

If you object to positive affirmations, that’s a clear sign that you have some limiting beliefs and ironically would benefit from them.

And here comes the science bit… (feel free to skip over if it bores you shitless.)

Positively stating that you can do something is a conscious stimulant to the upper cerebral brain regions. The more you stimulate and use the upper regions of your brain, the more neural interconnections are made and the more your subconscious believes that the goal has already been achieved. Now that your subconscious is fooled it begins to work on your conscious mind and will come up with ideas, strategies and a plan that will seek out potential opportunities it achieving that goal.

In all cases, positive affirmations can make hugely positive changes I all areas of your life.

So whats the best way to use affirmaitions?

Read aloud your positive affirmation, read it at least 3 times. Each time, vividly imagine the meaning of the affirmation, and feel what you are affirming is possible in your life. Intensely repeat your statements over and over throughout your day, especially before drifting off to sleep and before climbing out of bed in the morning. You can even jot a few affirmations down on a 3″ X 5″ card to read throughout your day.

Have a look at some of the affirmations I use. I don’t use them all everyday, I select the ones that are appropriate to me at the time.

• I am now becoming more productive and efficient in everything that I do.

• I have great purpose, and I am now exercising the unlimited possibilities available to me in the world.

• I am freeing myself now of fear, worry and anxiety, and I am at peace with myself.

• I greatly believe in myself and my abilities, and I am now progressing steadily.

• I am learning and growing daily, and I now find value in each new experience that happens to me.

• I am now directing total health for my entire being and all my bodily cells.

• I am secure now with my home, my work, my family and those around me.

• My attentiveness and observational abilities are now improving every day.

• I am now achieving emotional stability and balance in my life.

• With boldness and confidence, I am now taking action toward my goals.

• I am now taking action toward developing myself every day.

• My physical skills and abilities are now distinctly improving every day in every way.

• I am now achieving my correct body weight, and I am consciously improving my posture every day.

• I now love, forgive and accept myself as I am.

• I am coping, adapting and responding now to changing situations with ease.

• I am prosperous now in all things, and I always have everything I need from the abundant universe.

• I am progressing constantly now, and I accept full responsibility for everything that happens to me.

• Every day in every way, I am now feeling better about myself and my daily accomplishments.

• I am now very youthful, healthy, strong, enthusiastic, happy and full of confident energy.

• I now feel warm and loving and accept everything I create in my life.

These are not set in stone affirmations for everyone. You can make your own that suit your goals, in fact personalising your own affirmations makes them work so much better.

Have affirmations worked for you in the past?
How many times a day do you use affirmations?
If you are new to affirmations, what is your first one gonna be?

bLAZE yOUR tRIAL

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I must Use Affirmations… I Must Use Affirmations. is a post from: Ryan Renfrew

Written by Ryan Renfrew | Follow me on Twitter / Facebook

What uuuuuuup Guys and Gals?

Its not usual that I post on a Sunday, but I have today!!!  And I am gonna do something a little different and hopefully run this as regular Sunday feature.

As you may have guessed from the title, this feature contains a medley of all things weird and wonderful, a round up of the week of things that I think may be of interest to you. (If they arent please tell me so in the comment section.)

I was lucky enough to come across an awesome blog at Traindom.com run by Peep Laja. Here Peep interviews many of the big names of the online world. To date Peep has conducted 14 video interviews (the quality is excellent) Peep has a truly excellent interviewing style and really knows how to extract the best and most appropriate information from his guru interviewees. Each video is around 20 – 30 minutes so I have yet to watch them all.

The Interviews I have watched so far:

Interview #10: Mars Dorian, passion and purpose

Interview #9: Colin Wright, digital nomads and branding

Interview #7: Steve Scott and internet lifestyle

Cool posts by cool people

Steve Roys  Habits of Highly Miserable People, A take on Steven Coveys book with a similar title.

Tristan Higbess how to on gaining 100 blog comments

An excellent post by Radu Tyrsina on how to build a tribe around your commenting strategy.

For those with a keen eye you may have spotted a theme within the posts I have selected. The theme is commenting. And if you have been keeping up to date with me you will know that the  100 Blog Comment Challenge will officially kick off tomorrow (Mon 17th Jan), If you want to get involved please click here for more info and send me a link to the post you want commented on. If you have already expressed your interest to join in please send me a link to the post you want included at your nearest convenience (the nearer the better) You can find a full list of the posts and commentators listed here and on a special page on my homepage called The 100 Blog Commentators. Just a heads up – this is gonna be a huge, it is a great way to get traction on your blog and take it to the next level and a great way to meet some truly top notch people. Though you gotta get your skates on as it is only open to 100 people and spaces have been filling up fast.

On a personal note this is what I have been up to.

One of my 2011 goals is to read a book a week. This week I read “Living the 80/20 Way” by Richard Koch. The 80/20 way is a philosophy that 80% of things in life come from 20% what we do.

For example 80% of our wealth comes from 20% of our enterprises.
80% of our happiness and joy comes from 20 % of our relationships with others.

The thrust of the book is to search for and focus on that 20%  that produce 80% of our results in different areas of our lives (our selves, work and success, money, relationships and the simple good life.)

Audio books I’ve been listening to

The Body You Deserve – Tony Robbins
How To Be A winner – Zig Ziglar
Secrets To Success – Og Mandino

Plus I have also been diggin’ season 5 of The Sopranos – EPIC!

What books our audio programmes would you recommend?

As alwasy your tweets and facebook posts are very much appreciated.

bLAZE yOUR trAIL

The Weekly Whatevers… is a post from: Ryan Renfrew

Written by Ryan Renfrew | Follow me on twitter / facebook.

What uuuuuuuup? Hope you are having an awesome day?

So we are now two weeks deep into 20eleven. Howz it been for you? Have you been sticking to your new years resolutions? Are you still on track towards achieving your 20eleven goals?

I have just returned from a fantastic goal setting seminar A Present To Your Future by Micheal Colhoun – certified trainer of NLP and instructor of Kundalini Yoga. It was at this seminar that I discovered some home truths about my goal setting techniques I was blissfully unaware of. Ya’ see, over the years I’ve read a fair few books on goal setting and NLP and believed I have a sound understanding of the subject. Actually, truth being told I thought I understood soooo much about the goal setting process that I could skip a few steps. Oooops! Bad move.

I’m not gonna go into the specifics of the goal setting process but let me share an experience I had from a particular step of the process – admittedly a process I previously thought I didn’t need to bother with. And this element is called Personal Rules For Success, this is were we pick a goal we have previously achieved and think back to the time when the goal was conceived and list any emotions, thoughts or feelings we felt at that time.

A few of mine included…

• Knowing I had a plan.

• Feeling passionate and excited.

• A feeling that I am in control of my life.

• A feeling of resolute determination and that nobody could stop me or stand in my way.

• An overall sense  of power

And finally…

• A sense of certainty.

Well this was grand and an extremely valuable exercise, and ashamedly one I thought I didn’t need to do and could just gloss over, afterall I kinda new these where scattered somewhere across my subconscious, didn’t I? WRONG!!!!!…. As I went on to discover.

Sure, The Personal Rules Of Success seem great! And they are!

But hereon lies my problem.

The next part of the process is Working Out You Goals For The Coming Year. Okay, so I choose a goal from the money and finance area of my life.

‘By the 31st of December I will be on pace to be earn £8333 a month (£100,000 a year) I will know this has come true by seeing the figure displayed in my bank account.‘

Quite a MASSIVE goal right?… and it is possible… but heres where I find that chink in my goal setting armour.

• Have a plan – Yes!

• Felling passionate and excited – You bet!

• The feeling I am in control – Absolutely!

• Resolute determination – Check!

• A sense of power -  Sure!

But

• A sense of certainity – Hmmmm!

This is my stumbling block. A major stumbling block!

For us to achieve a goal we have to have an overwhelming sense of certainty. And for whatever reason I don’t quite have it yet for this goal. I want to have it, I want to have it so bad, I want to force my self to have it, but alas somewhere in the back of my mind is a smidgen of doubt – a limiting belief.

As I see it I am faced with two options.

Re-evaluate my goal.
or
Remove limiting beliefs.

Now, I have too stubborn a personality to move the goal posts and re-evaluate my goal, and besides I like the £100,000 it’s a nice big round number and it breaks that 6-figure barrier. If anything I want it even more now, mainly to prove to myself wrong. So removing my limiting beliefs it is then.

I am not 100% sure what these limiting beliefs are, I do have an inkling but will require further contemplation.

But I’m glad at least I know I have these limiting beliefs.

Up until the seminar I was unaware I had any limiting beliefs about this goal. Which would have tripped me if undetected.

We all have limiting beliefs. Yes, we ALL have them! lots of them! And in many cases we are unaware of them.

Let me give you an analogy.

A classic example is how elephants are trained. When elephants are young they are not so strong – relatively, so one of their legs is tied to a chain, the other end of the chain is attached to a stake driven into the ground. The elephant will struggle and push and pull for hours even days and over a period of time the elephant will develop with a sense of certainty or  create a belief that there is a limit to what it can do. Over the years the elephant will become so conditioned that when attached to the very same chain – one that the elephant can easily break free from – it doesn’t even try to break lose or escape, it just stays in the comfort zone it has been trained to be in.

This, in a way is just like us, what is your chain? what is holding you back? In many cases we are just like the elephant, unaware we are bound to false beliefs (the chain) that can easily be broken.

I would love to hear what limiting beliefs you have overcome in the past and how did you overcome them?

Resources

These are FREE resources that I have used and recommend.

• My Goal Setting Journal for 2011 – Goal Setting that just works by Yogi-Mind

The very 17 page workbook I was using at A Present For You Future goal setting seminar.

• Goals – by Brian Tracy

A 300+ ebook by the great Brian Tracy avaliable from his blog

bLAZE yOUR tRAIL

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Goal Setting Gone Wrong is a post from: Ryan Renfrew

Written by Ryan Renfrew | follow me on twitter/ facebook.

What uuuuup? I hope the blogosphere is treating you well.

Okay, so we are into the second week onf 2011 and its been a great week so far. So awesome infact that I want to keep this momentum rolling and set the bar as high as possible for the rest of the year.

There Is Trouble At The Mill.

In a recently published a post titled “The Leaky Bucket Syndrome”. We find out how incredibly frustrating it is to want to fill a bucket up with water only to discover there are many holes peppered in that bucket, letting the water easily drain out only to repeat the same process – wasting a lot of  time and energy. The Leaky Bucket Syndrome is a problem I have been pondering over for the past few weeks and is a problem not only happening to me, its also happening to you.

The Problem Is?

A lot of us up and coming bloggers work insanely hard to create killer content, to form and nurture our online relationships and to drive traffic with the goal of reaching a point where our blogs become ‘sticky’. For a blog to become ‘sticky’ it needs a certain amount of traction before it really ignites and is launched into stratospheric success. Think of a car wheel spinning on a load of gravel – going nowhere, but as soon as the spinning wheels are given a chance a connect with a tiny bit of tarmac, the car shoots off like a thundering rocket – huge acceleration, huge momentum. And that my fiend is what I want to do with my blog. But not only my blog, YOUR BLOG TOO.

I DON’T LIKE PROBLEMS! SO I FOUND THE SOLUTION

Who wants some traction on their blog?

The solution to The Leaky Bucket Syndrome – readers who visit your blog but take no action - is simple. Using the power of FOCUS and UNIFICATION we will gain that innitial- yet essential -  bit of traction needed to skyrocket our blogs to the next level.

The Idea Is This….

100 up and coming bloggers like ourselves are to contribute a single comment on a chosen post  for each of the 99 other bloggers.

The Result.

You will receive 100 comments of a blog post of your choosing.
You will comment and start relationships with 100 other bloggers.

Gaining The Maximum Benefit Possible.

To maximise the benefits of giving and receiving 100 blog comments, there are a few plugins you will want to install. These plugins will help increase your blogs traffic, page rank and ranking for your keywords.

And they are…

CommentLuv – http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/commentluv/

When you leave a comment on a blog that has CommentLuv installed, it will automatically leave a visible link at the end of your comment back to your latest blog post. This is a great plugin for generating new traffic and new visitors to your blog. I have found so many great blogs and great people by clicking on these links.

KeywordLuv - http://www.scratch99.com/wordpress-plugin-keywordluv/

The KeywordLuv plugin allows commentators to use an anchor keyword after their name when they fill in the name section in the signature box. The blog will then link the keyword phrase to your blog instead of your name. This is awesome if you have targeted keywords for you SEO campaign.

For example,  you will see Ryan Renfrew @ Lifestyle Design appear on my comments. So the words  ‘Lifestyle Design’ will link to my blog not Ryan Renfrew – great SEO advantage here.

DoFollow – http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/sem-dofollow/

This is a great plugin to have as it lets google bots crawl from website to website. When you leave a cooment on a blog you provide a link for the google bots to come over to your site. This will help with your google page ranking, especially if the googlebot is coming from a page that has a higher ranking than yours.

Socialise – http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/socialize/

Socialise allows you to social bookmark the post with what ever service you want, the two I mainly use are facebook and twitter,  but you can also use, digg, stumble upon or anything else.

If you have any other social plugin then that’s cool, the important thing is that people can bookmark your post.

Step By Step Guide Of How The 100 Blog Comment Challenge Will Work

1. If you want to give your blog some mega traction let me know you are onboard by commenting below.

2. Install the plugins listed above. This will give you the maximum benefit from receiving and contributing comments. (The essential  plugins are DoFollow, CommentLuv, KeywordLuv and whatever social bookmarking plugin you use.)

3. Write a post on you blog that you want to receive 100 comments on. It is a good idea to make this post a total belter and that it is cram packed with awesome information and of course is entertaining. This post should be your best work and will showcase you blog.

4. Send me your link to your “100 comment post” so I can let the other challengers know where to find it – either in the comment section or by email. (I have created a page called the 100 Blog Commentators, this page will reference all the challengers and provides link to the particular post they want commented on.)

5. Comment on all the contributing blogs. This is the whole point!!! If every one leaves one comment on everyone else’s blog then every one will have 100 comments. Now for the mathematically astute out there you will realise that we need 101 people to do this – unless you leave yourself a comment.

6. Socially bookmark the post you comment on. (You can use whatever platform you want, twitter facebook, digg, delicious etc. My preferences are facebook and twitter but use what ever you like). This part is one of the most essential elements of the plan as it will expose our highly commented on posts to the social media networks. And we all know how your blog post will look when it was commented on and tweeted 100 times – social proof at its best and can anyone hear the word VIRAL??????

The post I would like all you crazy catz to comment on is HOW TO BE AN ONLINE BAD ASS

In order for this to work, numbers have to be strictly limited to 101, myself and 100 others. So we will work on a first come first serve basis. I want you to tell your closest and most awesome blogger buddies, the cooler the blog (and the blogger) the better : )

So lets share this post, get the ball rolling and crush the shit out of 2011

bLAZE yOUR tRAIL

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The 100 Blog Comment Challenge is a post from: Ryan Renfrew

Written by Ryan Renfrew | Follow me on twitter / facebook

What uuuuup? What’s crack-a-lacking?

Last week I was drawing some comparisons between my offline business (personal training) and my online business. And I found some really great, and easy to implement ideas.

I started this blog little over three –very short – months ago and back then my phase 1 objective was to create awesome content, phase two was to generate some traffic, not a lot, just some super awesome people with similar goals, attitudes and dreams to my mine. And phase 3 – make it sticky – build a core group of commentators.

What I noticed is that commentators come and go. I’ve put in the hard yards, writing quality posts and finding awesome people – like your fine self – that comment on my posts. But alas many are never to be seen again. This is as annoying as trying to fill up a bucket with water that has a bunch of holes in it.

So I decided to plug up the holes. But how?

Hmmmm, this pattern seems familiar. I had noticed the leaky bucket syndrome happening in my personal training business. I would put a lot of effort and money into marketing campaigns which attracted new clients (the hard part) but after their pre paid sessions had ran out I would lose them forever. I had done all the hard work only to let qualified paying customers slip through my fingers.

Sick and tired of this happening again and again I decided to drill my loyal long-term clients and ask why they were still training with me. And I came up with a list of 10 core reasons.

I have taken these 10 principles and made them blogger friendly.

#1 Connect With Your Readers.

Try your best to really get to understand your readers. Visit their blogs, read their about page and really try to uncover their “hot buttons” , their driving force and what their core values are.

#2 Bring The ENERGY.

When I write I imagine I’m talking to a bunch of excited 8 year olds, I try to be as animated, as fun and as different as possible. Its my aim to hold attention and be interesting. The biggest turn off on a blog is being boring and dull!! Every sentence should be rocking it’s A game.

Let me tell you where I get my energy from.

I don’t write with the sole intention of maximising comments, subscribers, likes and retweets.  I write every blog post with the thought  “I am taking another step towards achieving my life dream”. I believe it’s because of this attitude that my readers pick up the ENERGY of my dream and have a much better experience than if I was writing to impress them.

If you want insane amounts of energy check out Mars Doraian and locationless.

#3. Shower Your Readers With Appreciation.

I love you guys, you guys rock! Its you guys that motivate me, encourage me and inspire me. If I didn’t have you guys around I would find it very hard to keep blogging.

#4 Respond To Your Readers Personally.

You can appreciate your readers by personally emailing them and thanking them for hanging around. Reply to every comment. Thank them individually for their RTs.

#5 Be An Eternal Student.

You don’t have to go to official seminars or get fancy certifications. You can get great ideas watching what your peers do – the good ones, there are some crap ones out there too, don’t learn from them – watching videos at ted.com or mycomeup.com or by reading industry magazines or books.

By reading success books and taking action on their teachings you can inspire, motivate and improve your readers experience.

Plus the more you teach the better your understanding of what you learn, which is a great help in positioning yourself as an authority figure within your niche

#6 Be Fun

Don’t take your self too seriously. Being “professional” is not mutually exclusive to being super fun.

Blogging is all about creating an experience. You can read this material on thousands of other blogs. What readers remember is how you make them feel, so having some fun along the way will leave a positive association in your readers mind.

#7 Make Your Readers Feel Important.

Two of the best books you could ever read are “How To Win Friends And Influence People” by Dale Carnegie and “Influence” by Robert Calandi.

Both of these spellbinding must reads explain that one of the most powerful human desires is the need to feel important.

If you can figure out your readers most powerful desires then they will keep returning to hear your wisdom.

#8 Mix It Up.

Never stick to one topic. I understand you may have specific niches and that’s great – and too be encouraged in most cases – but don’t be too rigid, you will find that you will sound repetitive and like a broken record and will sound repetitive like a broken record!!

Write from different angles and different viewpoints, try and find comparisons and differences between your niche and others, sometimes the more extreme the niche the better the insight. I wrote this post by comparing client retention strategies from my offline personal training business to my blog.

#9 Build Your Brand.

Be yourself, leave your mark. I write in a way and use phrases that are recognisable and are identifiable with my self. Just look at the beginning of every one of my posts “What uuuuuuup?” and bLAZE yOUR tRAIL. I often use these phrases on tweets, facebook comments and blog comments, after a while it becomes recognisable and gets noticed amongst the hustle and bustle of social media. Another great example you might recognise is Traffic Coleman – with his “Black SEO guy “signing off” tagline. Traffic Coleman also has that green border around his avatar which catches the eye. You always know when the Black SEO guy is around – well played sir.

#10 Be Cool.

Be cool to people.

Its not about how much you can get from people and what they can do for you.

“ The more people you can help to get what they want in life, the more you will get out of life”

- Zig Ziglar.

And this blog is proof. I have found that helping others get what they want has come back to me X ten.

Help mend the holes in my leaky bucket and drop me a comment.

bLAZE yOUR tRAIL

10 Steps To Combat The Leaky Bucket Syndrome is a post from: Ryan Renfrew

Written by Ryan Renfrew | follow me on twitter / facebook

What uuuuup? Hope you are off to a flying start so far in 20eleven.

In this era of the new economy and the power of super small business’ we need to focus on one thing and that one thing is marketing, for me 20eleven is gonna be the year of marketing – I am gonna learn, absorb and implement everything marketing. When I refer to marketing I don’t just mean marketing tactics with its Click Through Rates and Search Engine Optimisation I want to delve further into the deep psychological recesses of our consumer minds.

Marketing has been used to sell products and services since time began, well at least the beginning of consumerism, but I’m not interested in selling products or services (for the time being anyway) what I am interested in is using marketing as a psychological weapon  to ‘sell’ my ideas, opinions and ultimately ‘sell’ myself as a trusted authority within my sphere of influence. It is of utmost importance to sell your self to potential customers BEFORE you try to sell your goods and services.

There are three basic components to market anything, anywhere, at any time, to any one, at any price, under any circumstances. I have spoken with many business owners and many of them insist that their business is different, that their circumstances are somehow unique. This is not the case. Every single business in the world, past or present needs these three things to prosper.

1. MARKET
2. MEDIA
3. MESSAGE

These three elements have no particular order of sequence, they can’t have. No one element is more important than an other. However you do need all three operating at the same time. Think of it as a tripod, you need all three legs intact otherwise the tripod will fall over. The three sides of this marketing triangle all feed into one another to form a super marketing trifecta.

There are quite a few ways to screw up the super marketing trifecta.

Right Message – Wrong Market – Right Media
Right Message – Right Market – Wrong Media
Right Message – Wrong Market – Wrong Media
Wrong Message – Right Market – Right Media
Wrong Message – Wrong Market – Right Media
Wrong Message – Right Market – Wrong Media
Wrong Message – Wrong Market – Wrong Media.

There is only one right way.

Right Message – Right Market – Right Media

THE MARKET

When you choose your media, WHO are you targeting? When you craft your message, WHO is it meant to resonate with? It is true but sadly unfortunate that many business owners don’t know WHO they should be hunting, they don’t’ know WHO their current customers are and they have no idea WHO their ideal customer is.

Do you know WHO your ideal customer is? I mean do you really know them?  Do you know their likes, their interests even their dislikes? The reasons why they buy? If not, you should find out as soon as possible. Its as easy as just asking them, surveys, polls, questionnaires whatever you fancy.

Finding out this WHO is very important, once you know WHO you want to attract then finding them becomes so much easier. Often you will find that the right description of your WHO is already in your business, its just that you haven’t bothered to look or paid any attention to it up until now.

But what if you are just starting a new venture and have no frame of reference? Well, look for similar business’ in your niche and profile their customers. For example when I started this blog I had no readers – and I wanted some – not only that, I knew I wanted readers that would like my blog enough to comment and subscribe. So I read, comment and subscribed to blogs similar to mine. I took this a step further and commented on the blogs that commented on the blogs I read. Which in return yields subscribers WHO fit my WHO.

Start with your preference of WHO you want as a customer or client and whatever you do make damn sure that you stop trying to round up ‘everybody’ and ‘anybody’.

THE MESSAGE

If you want to catch a salmon them don’t tie an old boot to your fishing line

“Match Bait to Critter”
- Dan Kennedy

Once you know WHO you want to attract you need to create the right bait. The ‘bait’ is two things; the message you want to convey and your offer, whether that be a free info product, a free gift, a discount, a free service etc.

Many business yield poor results from their sales and marketing efforts because the have crap, no or the wrong bait for their WHO.

Crap bait is boring and dull. For example a free report  “Lifestyle Design Online” is crap. A free info report “How To Make 6 Figures With a Lifestyle Design Blog In Less Than 12Monthsa” is better.  Now, that same report with an audio download and a transcript of 5 interviews from that niches gurus is much much better. You get my drift?

Now that we have our bait we need to consider the message-to-market match. Most businesses have the one size fits all mentality, one brochure, one catalogue, one website. But this is very ineffective. You want your marketing to be magnetic, don’t ya? Then your gonna have to make it appeal in different ways to different people. Some people are more visual – offer them a report to read, some people are more auditory- offer them an audio download, while others are more tactile – offer them a free gift.

THE MEDIA

Newspaper, fliers, postcards, tv, magazines, billboard, pay per click, catalogue, social media, word of mouth, sky writing and the list goes on and on.

Fist off, channels of media changes business from business. The most important factor to consider is the WHO you are trying to reach. What do they pay attention to and what media do they use? A flier tucked under your window wiper for a 2 for 1 pizza offer might work. But a flier probably wont work for multi-million pound luxury yachts. There is no such thing as bad media, it’s how we use it that makes it bad.

So, it is your mission to find and use as many different media as you can. Many business’ rely on one, two or three forms of media to deliver their message, but this can leave them vulnerable to disruptions and competition.

Obviously my main media channel is my blog, but I also use twitter and facebook. What media works for you and why do you use it? Also, what hasn’t worked for you and why? Please, I would love to hear your responses in the comment section below.

To receive updates via email you can subscibe here.

bLAZE yOUR tRAIL.

How To Market Yourself With the Super Marketing Trifecta is a post from: Ryan Renfrew

Psychic Ryan can be found on twitter and facebook

What uuuuup you wonderful guys and gals?

We all know 2011 is now upon us. If you would like to take advantage of my psychic abilities then ask any question you like about any topic you like and I will reply with my super spooky psychic 2011 predictions.

***Disclaimer I am not psychic at all, I am only doing this for shits and giggles, so please, the  stranger and the questions the better. Due to the high volume of questions I will  receive – and I will respond to them all -  please limit yourself to only one question, so make it a goodie.***

Blaze a super special 2011 trail.

Mystic Ryan Can Tell The Future is a post from: Ryan Renfrew